How to Mulch Raspberries

Purchase mulch material from your local garden center or nursery.

Placing mulch around your raspberry bushes helps to protect their roots from the fluctuating microclimate temperatures of cool coastal climates. Mulching can spare you a lot of work -- it helps limit the growth of weeds, which you would otherwise have to remove yourself, and it allows you to reduce the watering frequency, because mulch promotes soil moisture retention.

1

Prepare the soil around the raspberry bushes. Loosen the soil with a garden hoe and remove any weeds. Avoid cultivating deeper than 3 inches, because you may damage the roots of the raspberry bushes.

2

Spread the mulch material over the soil. Place straw, sawdust or wood chips over the area surrounding the raspberry bushes. Use a rake to spread out the mulch material. Aim for a depth of 3 to 4 inches for wood chips and sawdust, and put down an 8- to 10-inch layer of straw.

3

Create a 1-inch space between the stems of the raspberry bushes and the mulch material. Mulch placed against the stem of the plant may cause it to rot and die.

4

Fertilize the raspberry bushes with ammonium nitrate. Upon decomposing, the mulch material can lower the soil's nitrogen supply. Apply approximately 1/2 cup of ammonium nitrate per bushel of mulch material to compensate for this loss.

5

Replenish the mulch annually in early spring before the growing period. Fluff up the remaining mulch and add additional mulch material to create an adequate layer.

Things You Will Need

Garden hoe

Straw, sawdust or wood chips

Rake

Ammonium nitrate

Tips

If weeds are stubborn and keep returning each year, use herbicide to control them. Apply herbicide in spring, before the buds break, according to packaging instructions.

Avoid mulching with straw if you live in an area prone to winds -- the straw may get blown away.

When using wood chip or sawdust, avoid over-mulching, because this can keep the roots from getting sufficient oxygen.